Offal exports build

Australian adult cattle slaughter surpassed 2016 levels for the first time this year in June and consequently offal exports have since been on the rise. In fact, year-to-date shipments also increased 5%, with the lift in production of the last few months offsetting the lower production of the first half of the year.

During September, beef offal exports to Indonesia lifted 25% year-on-year to 2,611 tonnes swt. This largely consisted of tongue root which increased from 555 tonnes in September 2016 to 924 tonnes swt in September this year, up 50%. Lung shipments more than tripled, reaching 305 tonnes swt while liver and lip shipments were up 50% and 18%, respectively. Heart shipments, however, halved from year-ago levels to 323 tonnes swt.

Beef offal volumes to Korea in September lifted 10% year-on-year, to 2,093 tonnes swt – predominantly due to greater Australian supply. Shipments to Hong Kong and South Africa increased 61% to 1,994 tonnes swt, and 4% to 1,072 tonnes swt, respectively.

In contrast, exports to Japan during September eased 27% from 12 months ago to 1,673 tonnes swt. The decline mostly consisted of frozen skirt and tongue cuts which fell 33% and 21%, respectively, with increasing competition from US products. However, year-to-date volume to the market is still keeping up with the same period last year, at 17,042 tonnes (down 1% from 2016).

Going forward, offal exports are expected to increase in line with recovering Australian production, as most offal products are exported to international markets. Click here to view a statistical summary of Australian offal exports or click here read the latest co-product market report.